1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to lids and covers for pots, pans and other cooking vessels. More particularly, the present invention relates lids and covers that have area of perforation that enable steam and/or hot air to exit the cooking vessel in a controlled manner, whereby the exiting steam and/or hot air can be used to heat a second cooking vessel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art record, there is a wide variety of different cooking vessels and covers for those cooking vessels. A common traditional cooking vessel is a metal pot or pan having a round open top. The traditional lid for such a pot or pan is a metal lid with a handle in it's center. The lid is sized to exactly cover the round open end of the pot or pan. As a result, different sized pots and pans use different sized lids and the lids between different pots and pans are not normally interchangeable.
Traditional lids for pots, pans and other cooking vessels are solid. As a result, when a lid is placed over a pot or pan, the contents of the pot or pan are sealed. If the pot or pan is placed over heat and the contents begin to boil, the resultant steam has no where to go within the sealed confines of the pot or pan. As a result, the pressure of the steam within the pot or pan causes the lid to periodically raise so that steam can escape. The lid, therefore, chatters on the top of the pot or pan until the lid is removed or heat source is removed. A solid lid also traps heat within the confines of a pot or pan. As a result, the contents of the pot or pan do not cool rapidly. As a result, the contents of a covered pot or pan may continue to boil until the contents boiler over and out onto the stove top. By the time a cook sees or hears the chatter of a lid on a pot or pan, some of the contents may have already spilled out past the lid with the escaping steam. This causes the sides of the pot or pan and the stove top to become dirty and require cleaning.
Another disadvantage of traditional pot lids and pan lids is that the presence of the lid handle in the top center of the lid prevents any other pot or pan from being placed onto that lid. Consequently, pots and pans cannot be doubled up on the stove top and each pot or pan must have its own burner on the stove.
A need, therefore, exists in the art for a single pot or pan lid that is capable of covering numerous different sized pots and pans.
A need also exists for a lid that enables steam to escape from a pot or pan in a controlled manner that enables some of the escaping heat to be reused.
Lastly, a need also exists for a lid that is flat and is capable of supporting other pots and pans, thereby enabling pots and pans to be doubled up on a stove top.
These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below.